Reply to Roscoe Nix situation creates headache for Felder and Board

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[quote=Anonymous]SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/05/13/roscoe-nix-elementary-innovative-learning-program/

[QUOTE]A decision to end an extended-year program at Roscoe Nix Elementary School in Silver Spring has frustrated some teachers who say they relied on the summertime salary.

The move, made amid budget talks and questions over the program’s effectiveness, was first announced in February. But administrators and a letter from the school board had initially indicated that a change would not come into effect until the 2025-2026 school year.

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The school later said there would be an abridged summer program this year, and teachers say that will require fewer staff members.

“We are in desperate need of help from you — help in the form of concrete actions, not words,” a group of teachers wrote in a recent letter to Monique Felder, interim superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools.

Nix is one of two Montgomery schools that has offered the “innovative school year,” in which students begin the academic year in July and have about 30 days of additional instruction. Teachers who work in the program are paid a stipend, plus an hourly wage for the additional work in the summer.

Then-Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight’s initial budget proposal for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year had included money to continue the program. But the school board decided to revisit the funding during its budget talks. A February email sent to Nix staff and families from the board sought feedback for potential cuts to the program, effective in the “Operating Budget for the 2025-26 school year,” according to the message reviewed by The Washington Post.

The system says the initial email from the school board sent to staff and families seeking feedback on the program misstated the date for the possible cuts. The 2025-2026 date was probably a typo, Nichelle Owens, the school system’s Title I director, told The Post. Karla Silvestre, the school board president, said that she did not recall the February email mentioning the 2025-2026 school year and that board members made clear during budget talks that any changes would happen during the 2024-2025 school year.

After The Post sent a copy of the board’s email to Silvestre, Christie Ann Scott, a school board spokeswoman, said, “We recognize communication with employees could be more clear and constructive. We are working to improve communication about decisions that impact employees.”[/QUOTE]

Kind of confusing since I remember how vocal the advocates for ending the ISY calendar at Nix were, but essentially it seems like most parents were ok with the year-round program, even though a minority found it inconvenient enough to complain about it to the board. And also that many teachers are ok with ending the program, provided they're given enough time to replace the income they would've gotten from the year-round program.

That the board made a mistake in its email communications and didn't realize it is embarrassing. What is Silvestre doing over there???[/quote]

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